Poll chief and poll commissioner are ninongs
Just My Opinion
By Raïssa Robles
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Muslim Autonomous Region Governor Zaldy Ampatuan share a meal in happier times
After nearly nine years in jail while on trial for mass slaughter, former Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan gave his daughter’s hand in marriage in a glittering ceremony studded with top Philippine officials.
Sixty of them were not merely guests at the wedding held at Manila’s Hotel Sofitel last Tuesday. They were principal wedding sponsors or – in Filipino, they were ninongs and ninangs.
In the Catholic religion, ninongs and ninangs are meant to guide and help a newly-married couple build a family life together.
In Philippine politics, the tradition has been warped into something else. Ninongs and ninangs extend political connections beyond family.
This is great for dynasty building and re-election.
This is downright terrible for democracy.
The list of “Principal Sponsors” in the wedding of Zaldy Ampatuan’s daughter to the son of a town vice mayor shows just how cynical our officials and politicians are.
The ninongs and ninangs do not mind being associated with the worst crime of political violence in our history. This is why I call the list of wedding sponsors the “horror list”.
It’s nothing to them, that this man they are honoring, by becoming principal sponsors at his daughter’s wedding, still stands accused of plotting a mass murder.
The famous backhoe used to bury Ampatuan, Maguindanao massacre victims – PHOTO by Rolivel Elusfa
Unless, they think Zaldy Ampatuan is not guilty. If they think that, they should say so out loud and let the electorate judge them this May.
Among the list of ninangs is President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, Davao City mayor Sara.
I tweeted to Mayor Sara this afternoon to ask why she was a ninang. No reply yet.
Incidentally, I wrote a separate piece on this for South China Morning Post. The digital version is entitled:
Victims’ families ‘exploding with rage’ after accused mastermind of Philippine massacre leaves jail to attend his daughter’s wedding
In 2009, the Maguindanao massacre claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 journalists, making it the deadliest attack on members of the media anywhere in the world
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 23 August, 2018, 7:30pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 23 August, 2018, 9:10pmRaissa Robles
Relatives of 32 murdered journalists expressed outrage on Thursday after Zaldy Ampatuan, a prime suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, briefly left prison to attend his daughter’s wedding.
“Our hearts are bleeding profusely and our feelings are exploding with rage by the court’s careless neglect of our feelings,” the relatives said in a statement. “For nearly nine years, [we] have been grieving over the brutal slaying of our spouses, children, siblings and relatives.”
They called Ampatuan’s three-hour pass from jail on Tuesday “an unforgivable insult”. They were not told of the request but had they known, they “would have vigorously opposed it”.
The 2009 massacre claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 journalists, making it the deadliest attack on members of the media anywhere in the world. Some were shot in their genitals before being buried in a hilltop grave that was dug with a mechanical excavator.
The massacre shocked the world and reinforced perceptions of a culture of impunity in the Philippines. In 2015, the Philippine police force sacked 21 officers for failing to prevent the massacre.
The murders were provoked by a quarrel between two political clans allied with then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who used local forces as a buffer against Muslim insurgents. Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Snr wanted his son, Andal Jnr, to succeed him but Esmail Mangudadatu decided to run for governor.
Esmail’s wife and relatives, along with lawyers and journalists, were on their way to file Esmail’s certificate of candidacy when they were ambushed and murdered, reportedly by Andal Jnr, civilian militia and members of the clan’s private army. Zaldy Ampatuan, older brother of Andal Jnr, was also accused of planning the massacre.
According to Nena Santos, a lawyer for 25 members of the Mangudadatu family, at least two witnesses, including a servant in the Ampatuan household, have testified in court that Zaldy Ampatuan was “part of the planning”.
Santos said Zaldy was being charged as “the principal by inducement” because the former governor of the Muslim Mindanao Autonomous Region was present during the three stages of planning of the massacre.
Since the charge is “conspiracy to commit murders”, she said Zaldy faces 58 counts of murder. Murder charges were dropped against Zaldy in 2010 but the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 he should be among those charged.
To read the rest, please click on this link.
While my SCMP piece centers on the Ampatuan massacre, this opinion piece is about the implications of the list of wedding sponsors on next year’s elections.
I found it alarming that two of the ninongs were Commission on Elections chairman Sheriff Abas and Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo.
Casquejo was recently appointed operations chief of the 2019 mid-term elections.
Central Mindanao, where the massacre occurred in the town of Ampatuan, Maguindanao, has historically been ground zero for election cheating.
The massacre was also an election-related violence.
Will the two poll officials’ relations with the Ampatuan family help them rein in cheating in that area? Or will their relations compromise their ability to stop any cheating?
Zaldy knows a lot about cheating. In 2011, Zaldy leaked an unsigned affidavit offering to turn state witness in former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s electoral sabotage case. The affidavit stated that Zaldy personally knew that Mrs Arroyo padded the votes for Miguel Zubiri so he could win as senator in 2007.
Zaldy also offered to turn state witness against his father and younger brother in the massacre case. His offers were rejected by then Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Who incidentally was not allowed to take a pass from jail to attend her son’s graduation.
I know I have turned cynical when it comes to Philippine politics. All these politicians agreeing to become ninongs and ninangs of Zaldy’s daughter. My guess is, Zaldy still has something to give them. Or Zaldy knows something about them. Or friendship trumps everything.
This also gives us an inkling why the late President Ferdinand Marcos is still popular to a section of the population to this day. After 20 years in power, think of how many weddings Marcos and his wife Imelda attended as ninong and ninang.
Parekoy says
Duterte is one lucky son of a bitch!
Duterte’s claim that CIA plans to assassinate him is a diversionary tactic to frame the conversation to foreign meddling; demonize America; away from the rising prices of rice and other commodities; and of course the seized big shabu shipment, which he wanted to put under the rug.
Duterte has plenty of luck!
He is left alone by the US for Trump has so many problems himself and even without the Muller probe on Trumps collusion with Russia, Trump will think twice before making a move against Duterte since Trump admires and envies dictators and authoritarian leaders like Putin, Kim, and Duterte, who can rule and abuse with impunity.
The occupation and continued land grabbing of China of Philippine and neighboring territories within China’s invented 9-dash line go unchallenged from the US, whose foreign policy is quite concentrated on Trump’s trade war. China knows this and being the biggest bully in the pacific, the Dragon is now breathing with fire ready to blow to any resistant weakling. Among the resistance, only Vietnam has the balls to confront China and I’m not surprised since they fought off invaders for centuries.
Duterte is aware that both China and US are spying on every conversation he has and he knows they are damning and will seal his fate at the ICC for his human rights crimes, but he singled out the US for convenience since he answers to his masters in Beijing.
Duterte is ill and his family knows it well! Bong Go is the default ‘pharmacist/pusher’ who provides Duterte with unlimited supply of Fentanyl and other concoctions to alleviate Duterte’s physical as well as mental pain and psychosis! Chinese medical specialists are flown to Davao to help Duterte live longer for it is in China’s interest that Duterte stays in power and take advantage and make the most of the situation that the current administration is their puppet!
Duterte is also aware of his health and the consequence of his death. He needs to protect Foolong and Inday on the criminal charges when an unfriendly administration takes over. Duterte is stocking up on his insurance: Filling the SC with his puppets; moving for Federalism; creating Hugpong for Inday Sarah’s eventual run for the Senate; influencing the outcome of Bongbong’s petition at the PET for challenging Leni Robredo’s election; and lastly courting the military to take over to protect his family and don’t let Leni ascends to her constitutional right for the Presidency in case Duterte’s incapacity or death.
Duterte does not give a fuck about the plight of the Filipinos nor his loyalist of 16Million ‘row 4’ followers. He is a one-trick pony! He only knows how to govern by killing and every problem is forcefully connected drugs to justify more killings!
Many suspected that flooding the Philippines with drugs is China’s policy so that the populace is weak and reinforced Duterte’s ‘War on Drugs’, but even without this alleged China sponsored policy, it is quite transparent that Duterte’s War on Drugs benefits Foolong’s group as the main and most powerful drug lord in the Philippines when all his rivals are eliminated!
Even if Muller finds Trump as criminally liable and US Congress impeaches him, Duterte remains outside the radar of US foreign policy since Trump will be leaving plenty of mess that the next administration will be tied up on cleaning up!
Duterte is one lucky son of a bitch!
…for now…
Parekoy
08-30-2018
arc says
hear! hear! at saka bong go is trying to be senator where he’ll be taking over sotto as speaker and rule the senate for china.
all the president’s men (and women) hukpong ng mga recycled, sara’s panibago uli, recyclling her father’s practices, like father like daughter, the son is busy running the lucrative drug trade nationwide, china as drug supplier. all in the family, hinugpong.
duterte is one lucky bastard, for now, true. filipinos willingly compromised themselves and put their hands up and together with duterte, grab as much money as they could, stole as much as they could, travel as much as they could, and damn the rest! taumbayan is already highly taxed just so duterte can live a life of luxury, with two offices and staff at both offices, constant travel commuting between the offices, all the president’s men (and women) languishing in luxuries. their input, what input? not enough work, pero adding more expenses and draining the kaban ng bayan further.
one lucky bastard, for now. already the lucky bastard is so lucky to be fearing death by cia. surrounded hesself with retirees, he, he, he, his amulet yata, fuddy daddies like him and also knowing no better, good at playing idiots, spending what could have been their grand chidlren’s inheritance, traveling in style with duterte,and living like kings. tomorrow their children’s children will gather the fruit of the poisonous durian, he, he, he, no jobs for them, no food left on the table, education out of reach dahil unfunded, prices of commodities mapakataas, pero de bale na, lolo at lola had a nice time traveling with duterte, off to israel, off to whoop whoop! off on spending spree.
blame these people! their chidlren’s children will pay the price of their follies, and they’ll starve.
duterte feeling lucky and feeling important to be killed by CIA! in his dreams!
no CIA wont kill him. CIA and the rest of the world would rather see duterte humiliated, dragged through the court in hague and pissing in his pants! jailed and fed only porridge! wearing prison clothes and doing manual labor, maybe cleaning toilets! and being pissed by other prisoners, binuntal! laughed at and ridiculed.
no, CIA wont kill him, duterte is not bourne identity, just one stupid bastard, he, he, he.
arc says
also, foolish (polis) chief albyalde is now into spreading fake news! point his crooked fingers at places like naga, hub kuno ng drug activities and naga, he, he, he. nahawaan ni mocha si albayalde! cannot read statistics, and mistook it for something, something. penepe, denede ni albayalde ang good name ng naga at iba pa.
polis chief, mistaking statistics? aba, baka drug adik na din po ang polis chief and failed to see statistics for what it is, fudging and announcing his own flawed version.
like mocha na si albayalde, and the truth is not in him, maybe drugs po is in him na, his mind addled na, cooked and shabu flavored na, he, he, he.
drill down says
https://www.salon.com/amp/america-is-married-to-the-mob-but-now-the-crime-boss-in-the-white-house-is-feeling-the-heat
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-organized-crime-213910
arc says
digong going to israel to meet ofws there. and yet, we already have so much returning ofws here in pinas, some undocumented, all needing jobs. their families are here in pinas too, digong dont really need to go to israel to meet ofws. if he can make life better in pinas, ofws abroad will be more than happy, more than thankful.
going to israel to meet ofws and then telling them fake news again like how makatao his regime is, how better off the filipinos, how progressive the nation, how happy, how how the carabaw, his speeches full of kalaswaan. he really is better off not going. god knows what kind of kabastusan will he broadcasting again.
spare us!
drill down says
America is married to the mob: But now the crime boss in the White House is feeling the heat
https://www.salon.com/amp/america-is-married-to-the-mob-but-now-the-crime-boss-in-the-white-house-is-feeling-the-heat
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Just What Were Donald Trump’s Ties to the Mob?
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-organized-crime-213910
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But Trump was not clean as a whistle. Beginning three years earlier, he’d hired mobbed-up firms to erect Trump Tower and his Trump Plaza apartment building in Manhattan, including buying ostensibly overpriced concrete from a company controlled by mafia chieftains Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno and Paul Castellano. That story eventually came out in a federal investigation, which also concluded that in a construction industry saturated with mob influence, the Trump Plaza apartment building most likely benefited from connections to racketeering. Trump also failed to disclose that he was under investigation by a grand jury directed by the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, who wanted to learn how Trump obtained an option to buy the Penn Central railroad yards on the West Side of Manhattan.
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